JAKARTA - The Australian government has again urged the Myanmar military regime to release its citizen, Sean Turnell, who has been detained since the coup took place because of his position as Economic Advisor to Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In a statement, Friday 2 April, Australia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the detention of economics professor at Macquarie University, Sydney is being held with limited consular access.
"Australia continues to seek immediate release and official information on the reasons for his detention both in Myanmar and through the embassy in Australia," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.
"We call on the military regime to allow Professor Turnell to return to his family in Australia," the statement continued.
For information, in the press conference for the first time regarding Turnell on March 23, Myanmar's military regime revealed that the economist was investigated on two counts of violating immigration measures and official state secrets.
Myanmar Military Spokesman General Zaw Min Tun said the two offenses carried prison sentences of five and seven years, respectively.
"We will continue to allow him to speak with his family and the Australian Embassy in Yangon," he explained, launching The Irrawaddy.
It is known that apart from being an Economic Advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi, Professor Turnell also serves as the Research Director at the Myanmar Development Institute (MDI), a leading economic think tank that focuses on building government capacity.
Myanmar Coup. The VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. Readers can follow the news surrounding the Myanmar military coup by tapping on this link.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
